


Taming Destiny

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Open Novella [3]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers
Genre: Amnesia, Contest Entry, Family, Gen, Merging of Worlds, Minor Akiyama Ryou | Ryo Akiyama/Makino Ruki | Rika Nonaka, Multiverse, Mysterious illness, Mystery, Mystery man, Open Novella Contest, Open Novella Contest 2019, Ryou & Tai - Twins, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: Tai and Ken find themselves involved in events which involve the colliding of two worlds, secrets one of the two would rather have left in the dark, but the return of an old friend along with the old friend's memories. Of course, the Digidestioned and Digitamers find themselves clashing as their worlds merge.
Relationships: Akiyama Ryou | Ryo Akiyama & Ichijouji Ken, Akiyama Ryou | Ryo Akiyama & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya
Series: Open Novella [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828204
Kudos: 4
Collections: (General) Open Novella 2019, Digimon: One-in-Two Secrets, MinorFandomFest, Platonic Relationships, Siblings





	1. Missing Persons

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Note - This is written for Open Novella 2019. The prompt is Suspense 8: Mystery Man. he prompt is, "He just recently got his memories back – everything that was important to him and everything that should have stayed forgotten, rushed back. The detective told him of your whereabouts and now he's on his way to you. Who are you to him? And why is he looking for you?" I'm working with a headcanon, but won't reveal what that is as that will end up spoiling things

The final bell rang dismissing the middle school students for summer break. One student, in particular, stretched his arms into the air before letting out a rather loud sigh of content. Tai smiled before leaning over and snatching up his school bag which he swung over his shoulder before proceeding towards the shoe lockers where he switches into his regular shoes.

"I take it you're glad classes are done?"

Tai turned and looked at his red-haired kohai and grinned. "Well, classes are rather boring."

"What you really mean is they're not challenging enough."

Tai's brown eyes stared at Izzy for a few seconds before choosing to turn his head away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You..." The red-head frowned yet didn't pursue the topic. Instead, his head turned towards Matt and Sora who walked together. "You've been spending less and less time with Matta and Sora."

"Matt's busy with his band and Sora quit soccer, plus the two are glued together ever since they became a couple. It's not much fun being the third wheel."

"Or the guy whose best friend asked out the girl he liked."

"Aren't you observant?" Tai let out a sigh. "I honestly don't think too much about it. That's too much energy I'm better off utilizing in other pursuits."

"I see." Izzy watched Sora and Matt for a few more minutes before following Tai out. The two DigiDestined stopped short upon seeing a familiar face. "Oh, Ken."

"Could I possibly discuss something with you, sempai?" Ken stood there while Wormmon peaked out from Ken's bag.

"You know I'm always available, so you need not ask." Izzy beamed at the young genius.

Actually, I was hoping to speak with Taichi."

The two older DigiDestined looked at each other. Tai finally shrugged. "Maybe it's soccer related?" He turned towards Ken. "That said, you're probably better at soccer than I am."

"Liar." Izzy coughed under his breath.

Tai turned towards his red-haired classmate. "What?"

"Face it. You're always good at hiding things." Izzy cleared his voice before continuing. "I've got some things to do, so I'll see you two later. Wormmon as well."

Tai watched Izzy take off before turning towards his sister's friend. "So..."

"There's a café near your school where we can talk. I'll even pay."

The middle school student took a deep breath before rubbing the back of his head. "Seriously..."

Tai followed Ken towards the café the younger DigiDestined choose, but he wondered why Ken picked him over Izzy. Upon arrival, Tai saw a bunch of tables inside and out. Ken selected a table inside and placed an order while Tai set his school bag on the table. Tai glanced around nervously; he almost felt there existed some reason for him to worry.

The waitress set the tea down in front of them and Tai looked down at the drink. He turned the drink slightly but felt a little hesitant in picking up the drink. Ken took a sip from the cup set in front of him, but Tai found himself wondering how an elementary school student could be so put together and mature for their age. "You aren't going to ask why I wanted to talk to you?"

Tai sighed before looking down at the tea Ken ordered. "I figured you of all people would get to the point eventually."

He decided drinking the tea might make the nervous feeling which plagued the back of his mind goes away. Ken watched him carefully before saying, "Ryo."

The hot tea Tai was attempting to swallow started coming up his throat and nose. Instinctively he reached one hand up and covered his mouth while a few coughs tried escaping through his nose.

"Sorry. Did I surprise you?" Ken wasn't smiling, which made Tai feel warranted in his feelings of trepidation. The younger DigiDestined handed one of his tea biscuits to his worm-like Digimon. Wormmon for some reason stayed silent regarding the whole matter, yet watched Tai warily as Ken did.

Tai recovered and set his cup of tea down. "Look. I know your brother Sam and Ryo were good friends, but I still don't understand why you're curious about him."

Ken continued glaring at Tai. "I asked T.K. what happened to him. He said none of the original eight talk about him and the topic was off-limits. None of you tried looking for him when he disappeared, did you?"

Tai turned his head and looked out the window of the small café at those sitting outside. "Why did you pick me to ask?"

"You were the leader of the original eight."

"If you want someone to blame for what happened to Ryo than go ahead and blame me. I know I certainly do."

"So you did make the decision not to look for him, didn't you?"

Tai turned his head so he might look at Ken. The younger DigiDestined was obviously angry. "You still haven't said what your interest in Ryo is."

Ken continued glaring at Tai. "And you haven't said what your connection to Ryo is."

"What do you mean?"

"None of the other eight knew Ryo and my brother Sam were best friends."

The older DigiDestined took a deep breath and looked out the window. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does! Why didn't you look for him?"

Tai knew Ken was fuming at him still. "What if..." Despite this Tai wasn't sure if whether he should say anything in front of someone as intuitive as Ken. "What if he doesn't remember us? What if he's actually happier where he is now then where he was before? What if he's lucky enough to have a girlfriend and is enjoying his time with her?"

For a few minutes, neither spoke. "Wait. Are you telling me you know where Ryo is?"

Ken's response made Tai pause, yet eventually, he said, "Do you promise not to ask questions or tell the others? Both of you?"

Tai watched Ken's facial features twist with even more excitement. "Yes."

"Yes." Wormmon nodded his green head.

The leader of the previous group of DigiDestined nodded his head and stood up. He grabbed his school bag and started towards the door. "It's better if I show you rather than telling you."


	2. Multiplicity

The three walked towards the apartment Tai lived in with his parents and younger sister. The younger DigiDestined followed with a look of reservation on his face, but Tai didn't blame Ken for feeling the way he did as his own feelings regarding the matter were complicated. For a few seconds, he hesitated in opening the front door of the apartment yet hoped Ken didn't notice. Ken glanced around the apartment and took in the silence and lack of shoes at the front door. "Nobody else is home today?"

"It's probably better that way, but I'd rather not explain why." He knew in the back of his mind Kari was likely busy with some school club, though was a little bothered by the fact his mother wasn't home when he arrived home from school. He didn't remember a day when his mother wasn't at home making dinner particularly since she always finished her errands for the day early on, but kept a super strict routine with everything she did.

Tai headed towards the room which was originally the computer room but became his when he entered middle school. He pressed the power button on his computer before turning towards the closet. Ken stood in the doorway watching carefully, but after a few minutes Tai knocked some of the items stored in the closet off the shelves and let out a mild curse.

"You're not very organized, are you?"

"Not really, but I did manage in finding what I was looking for." Tai picked up a deck of cards before grabbing a jacket with a hood. "We'll need to go through the Digital World to get there."

"What?" Ken's eyes blinked in surprise. "How did you figure out where on Earth he went?" Tai stopped pulling the jacket on and stared at Ken for a few seconds. He thought carefully about what he might say if anything when the younger DigiDestined said, "Right. I promised not to ask questions."

Ken pulled out his D3 and held his second generation Digivice towards the screen which in turn brought up the portal. The two DigiDestined and the Digimon headed through. "Taichi!"

Agumon's cheerful voice greeted them and Tai knelt down in front of his Digimon as the orange, miniature t-rex like creature ran into his arms. "Hey, buddy. Nice to see you. Could you possibly watch Wormmon today? We're going to that place."

The mouth of Tai's Digimon twisted into a scowl. "That place? Are you sure? That place..."

"Yeah. Ken needs to know, or at least some of it." Tai glanced over at the younger DigiDestined.

"We're not taking the Digimon with us?"

"Only so far." Tai turned towards Ken's Digimon. "We'll need Stingmon to fly us to the location. Ken gave the command and Wormmon Digivolved into his humanoid wasp ninja form. After a few minutes, the four arrived at a cave-like system and Stingmon became Wormmon again. Ken followed Tai into the cave until they came across what looked like a portal with a grid.

Ken's eyes blinked. "What is this place?"

Tai looked at the portal in front of them. "Honestly, I don't think the other DigiDestined ever think of this place. It's how we got back home the first time. I kept the Agumon card, but I remembered Gennai told us this portal could take us to other worlds." A quick glance at Ken told Tai the younger DigiDestined was catching on. "Of course, gathering the cards I needed when they don't exist in this world and the others were destroyed wasn't an easy task either."

"Do the others know you've been traveling to other worlds?"

"No. I haven't told Kari either." Tai turned towards Ken. "We're going to a different Digital World, but we will be heading into a different Real World as well, but the Digimon will need to wait in the Digital world for us? Are you okay with that Ken?"

"I want to know what happened to Ryo. I owe him."

Tai let out a deep breath. Carefully he removed the top nine cards and placed them in the same pattern as before. The only difference was him choosing the Augumon for the pattern. A bright light opened in the stone portal and Tai took a deep breath before stepping through. He felt a pull in his middle area before landing on his feet. He glanced back and saw Ken looking around.

"This world is different."

"Please keep that in mind when we head to the Digital World." Tai held up his Digivice and noted the device morphed into the Digivice of their current world. Ken followed suit and saw his Digivice hadn't changed. He glanced up at Tai, yet didn't ask any questions regarding why the change occurred or didn't occur.

"How do we get to the Real World?"

"Depends." Tai took a deep breath. "For the most part, it means taking one of the portals which appear." The older DigiDestined pulled out his handheld computer. "Thankfully there's a pattern in both the Digital and Real World."

Tai found himself grateful for Ken not asking any questions despite the fact he very well knew the younger DigiDestined likely had quite a few. Leaving the Digimon in the Digital World stung, particularly when telling the two to hide and avoid trouble, yet Tai found himself glad they didn't run into a certain Digimon who'd prove a tad hostile when he first started visiting the place.

He pulled up his computer and checked a particular social feed. "It looks like we're in luck yet again."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is I know where Ryo is at this exact moment."

"How?" Ken glanced away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I just..."

"I know. It's rather hard to explain without getting too personal about the details." Tai shoved his computer into his pocket. "Right now, he's at the mall."

"Ryo? At the mall?" Ken shook his head. "I would have thought Akihabara."

"Yeah, I know. We used to go there a lot." In a way, Tai felt he was revealing too much about his personal relationship with Ryo, yet in the back of his head he fought back the nagging feeling by telling himself Sam also went there with Ryo and thus Ken would brush the information as a mere coincidence. The two got onto the train while Tai kept checking the time and hoping Ryo wouldn't change locations.

When they arrived at the mall and Tai checked the information again. The latest sighting of one Rika Nonaka with a certain someone indicated she was at a store just outside of the food court. He personally hoped they were still there and headed towards the food court. Ken followed him with a look of confusion on his face, but the confusion increased when they took a seat at one of the tables at the food court just outside the store.

Tai pulled up his hood and waited, but Ken noticed him watching the specific store and started watching. Eventually, Ryo came out of the store with a girl with vivid red hair and a blonde streak in her hair. Glancing over at Ken he saw the younger DigiDestined's eyes widen, but Ken stands as if he were going to walk over to Ryo. Tai reached out and tugged on the sleeve of Ken's school uniform in an attempt to make him sit down. "Don't."

"Who is she?"

"Rika? She's Ryo's girlfriend, sort of."

"Isn't she our age? I mean the age of your sister Kari and us?"

"Yeah, don't remind me." Tai sighed before leaning back in his seat.

"That's..."

"It's not illegal Ken."

"I thought age gap romances were."

"Ken..." Tai closed his eyes not wanting to explain the fact only _some_ relationships were illegal, and even then only if one of the people in the relationship was a minor. Tai, in particular, didn't wish to, in his explanation, give away anything which may lead Ken to figure out his exact relationship with Ryo particularly when Kari didn't know.

"They're not?"

"It depends. Could we leave it at their relationship doesn't fall into that category?" Tai looked up at the ceiling and didn't notice Ryo glancing over at their table and catching sight of them. He didn't see Ryo start over to their table while Rika followed close behind.

"Do I know you?"

Tai sat up straight yet felt a rise of panic in his chest. He tugged his hood down slightly and took a deep breath. He quickly glanced up and saw Ken open his mouth. He didn't wait to see if Ken might say something about knowing Ryo and thus create problems he didn't want to deal with, particularly given things he didn't want to come out. "No."

"Sorry. I must have mistaken you for someone else."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tai watched Rika grab onto Ryo's arm and start dragging him away. "Come on Ryo. I know you're a super friendly person, but you don't need to be bothering these strangers."

Ken watched them leave but then turned to look at Tai. The agitation the younger DigiDestined felt was obvious from the look on his face in addition to his tone of voice. "Why? Why did you do that?"

"Don't you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"I asked you about Ryo not remembering us, but being happier. I even mentioned the fact he had a girlfriend."

"But why doesn't he remember us? Why doesn't he remember me? He took care of me after Sam died, so why..."

"I see. That's why you're worried about Ryo." Tai took a deep breath. "I asked if you would promise not to ask questions, but not tell the others."

"I know you..." Ken glanced at the table in irritation. "I won't ask questions about this including why Ryo's eye color has changed but does the reason you don't want me to tell the others to have to do with the fact you looked for Ryo after they decided not to?"

"Something like that." The leader of the previous generation of DigiDestined took a deep breath, thinking he did need to add something. "That said, I doubt Izzy stopped looking but is still working on some kind of computer program to find him. Knowing him his program is on the back burner because he hasn't factored in other worlds yet doesn't have information on them. I don't plan on giving it to him either."

The look on Ken's face told Tai a lot. Ken wasn't satisfied with the answer he got, but he wasn't someone to break promises either.


	3. Misgivings

Knowing Ken wouldn't pry let alone tell the others about Ryo didn't make the feeling of trepidation go away. Emotionally Tai felt overwhelmed as the other parts of the of the secret Ken didn't know rattled around in his head. In part, he knew the three of them would be heading back to the apartment and by chance running into _that_ person. Tai didn't like lying to _that_ person.

Agumon and Wormon were rather somber when Ken and Tai returned, almost as if the Digimon sensed the mood. Neither Digimon spoke as they journeyed back to _their_ world. Bringing back Agumon and just not just Wormon seemed at the time the natural thing to do, yet when they arrived back they in the real world he wondered if this action might not bring more attention to the fact he and Ken went off somewhere in the Digital World.

... yet what was done was done. Ken knew Tai found Ryo, but they'd come into the Digital World without any of the other DigiDestined watching the portal. Tai took a deep breath and turned back towards Ken wondering if he would say anything. The look of concentration on Ken's face decided things for Tai. The older DigiDestined reached down and rubbed the top of Agumon's head. "Look. I know that was rather disappointing, but.."

Ken's head jerked up while Wormon shifted slightly in his partner's arms. Ken's blue eyes looked Tai in the eye. "What about you?"

"What do you mean?" Tai swallowed nervously. He wasn't sure he wanted to know where Ken was going with his train of thought.

"Can you honestly tell me you weren't disappointed by that?"

Tai's eyes widened in slight horror. "Don't you remember me asking how you would feel if Ryo's life was better than the life he has here? How can I be disappointed if Ryo is in fact for once in his life happy?"

He watched Ken's eyes narrow slightly. "Maybe the word disappointed isn't the right word for how you feel senpai?"

A slight shudder ran down Tai's spine as his teeth clenched. A tug on the sleeve of his jacket drew his attention towards his Digimon, but Tai's brown eyes blinked in surprise. "Agumon?"

"I think Ken's asking if it makes you feel sad."

Tai swallowed again and shoved his hands into his pants pocket. He glanced up at the younger DigiDestined. "You promised you wouldn't ask questions, Ken."

The corners of Ken's mouth moved slightly as his frown deepened. "Senpai, I'm going to point out something I've observed. You purposefully hid your face from Ryo, so I'm guessing Ryo would have actually recognized you, had you not. That's why you hid your face. I don't know what your relationship with Ryo was, but you are definitely an important person to him, aren't you?"

Tai's own eyes narrowed. "It's complicated."

"I didn't ask for specifics." Ken continued holding onto Wormon who wiggled slightly. "Isn't it better for you if you know what I suspect?"

Wormmon's eyes blinked. The insect-like Digimon climbed up Ken's school uniform so he might whisper in his partner's ear.

Ken's eyes went wide. "Wh... I'm sure that isn't the case."

"What?" Tai glanced away hoping Wormmon hadn't guessed correctly.

"Wormmon thinks you and Ryo..." Ken swallowed and glanced away. "Well, this is certainly embarrassing."

"Ken..."

"Wormmon thinks you two were a couple."

Tai's brown eyes widened slightly in surprise. "What. No" Laughter escaped from his chest area. "I certainly needed that laugh though."

One of Tai's hands reached for his handheld computer. Despite the laugh, his mind drifted to the e-mail exchanges between him and Ryo and he took a deep breath. Ken's voice made Tai glace up from checking an e-mail sent by his mother. "I still want to fix things."

"What?" Tai tried laughing, but his nervousness shown through. "Ryo's fine. He's happy."

"But you're not."

"That's something I've come to..." Tai's eyes drifted back down to the e-mail his mother sent and swallowed back the panic he felt from reading the e-mail in front of him. "... live with."

Ken picked up the strain in Tai's voice. "Is something the matter."

"No. Nothing..." Tai's eyes closed upon realizing his tone of voice indicated otherwise.

Wormmon, of course, stated the obvious. "You don't seem alright."

"It's..." Tai's brown eyes opened again and took in the e-mail. His eyes closed again, and he checked out, "Shit. Neo."

He didn't resist Ken removing the computer from his hand, nor did he think much about Ken finding out another part of _the_ secret. Everything to this point was completely in his control including allowing Ken in on the fact Ryo was alive in another dimension, but now things felt as if they were spiraling out of control. Tai opened his eyes and saw Ken and Wormmon reading the e-mail. Wormmon eventually looked up. "What is this?"

"It's..." Tai closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. His attempt at calming himself didn't prevent his entire body from shaking or the flashes of memory from rushing forward. The sounds, odors, and sights quickly overwhelmed him and he found himself rushing towards his desk and puking over the side into the trash bin. His hand reached up and attempted wiping his mouth as a shiver racked his entire body.

"This says, ' _It's your fault Rei is dead._ "

"It wasn't Tai's fault." Agumon piped up. "It wasn't either..."

"Agumon!" Tai's hands clenched the top of the desk. "We've discussed this. Why we can't talk about that."

"Well, whatever it is its..." Ken walked over and set the small computer down onto the desk and pointed towards the next line. "As you can see here, they say, ' _If you thought I'd ever forgive you for that you are sadly mistaken._ "

"I didn't." Tai's eyes clamped shut. "I didn't. I would have..."

"Saved this Rei if you could have?"

Tai's eyes snapped open. He found himself looking at the other DigiDestined in the eye. Tai found himself taking a deep breath, yet nothing on Ken's facial features said he blamed Tai, but eventually, he looked away.

"The rest of that e-mail is an issue though."

"You mean the part which says, ' _It took time, but I know you're secret. I've taken both of her. Meet me at the observation deck of the St. Luke's Garden Tower if you want to save her, but you must choose which one you'll save. If you don't arrive by sundown then you'll save neither one. That is my revenge._ " Tai took a deep breath and grabbed the jacket which he used when Agumon was in the real world and pulled it over the Digimon. "Agumon, we've got to go."


	4. Game

He headed towards the front door with Agumon hot on his heels. When he arrived at the elevator which would bring him quickly to the ground floor he saw Ken following close behind with his own Digimon.

"Ken, this isn't your problem."

"I'm not going to let you do this on your own senpai." Ken stepped in and pushed the button for the ground floor while holding onto Wormmon. "I know there are things you don't want me to find out, but I also can't under good conscious let you go on your own. I promise not to let the other DigiDestined know where we're going."

Tai contemplated Ken's response and thought carefully regarding what Ken said. The younger DigiDestined reached out and pushed the button. Tai took a deep breath. "Okay."

The four hurried towards Aomi station. Tai found himself shifting from one foot to another while waiting for the train on the Yurikamome line to arrive, but he muttered slightly under his breath with impatience. His brown eyes kept drifting towards the station clock and mentally he countered down the time they would need to arrive before sunset. The open-air layout of the platform did nothing to relieve his feelings of anxiety.

"Come on..."

"Calm down senpai."

"You know that you could just call me Tai, right?"

"What?" Ken startled slightly and looked Tai in the eye. Wormmon did as well.

"You don't use any honorifics with Ryo."

"I'll think about it."

Tai got onto the train with Ken and began counting the stops – all five – until they arrived at Toyosu station along with every minute which passed by. The sound of people coming and going at each stop made him even more anxious. In the back of his mind, he knew the sun would in fact set soon, but much of his time to reply to Neo's demand was chewed up by school and taking Ken into the Digital World.

Eventually, they arrived at Toyosu station and left the station under the outdoor canopy which protected passengers from the rain, but let the line in through the design which arched ever so slightly to the left. The two DigiDestined and the two Digimon headed towards the other station with the entrance with the circular roof so they could enter the Tokyo Metro for the Yurakucho line and Tai found himself waiting anxiously yet again.

Eventually, their second train arrived and Tai boarded with his companions. He breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the final station and headed up to ground level, yet the relief from being one step closer didn't erase the trepidation felt from what Neo planned on doing. They walked at a brisk pace until they arrived at the St. Luke's Garden tower and looked up at the building in front of them. The skyscraper consisted of two towers of differing height connected by a sky bridge.

Tai found himself thankful the adults around them perceived them as normal kids, yet in the back of his head, he felt a rather nagging feeling regarding the situation. The location was, in fact, a rather public place and as such, the potential to draw unwanted attention was definitely there, but how Neo managed to get those he'd kidnapped to the open-air observation deck unnoticed was definitely a puzzle.

"Senpai..."

"It's too much out in the open."

"I've thought about that myself. He could potentially have inside help, but if he has a Digivice it is possible to enter the Digital World to get to any of the locations here."

"I won't deny the fact Neo is quite resourceful." Tai found himself taking a deep breath as the elevator continued up.

Eventually, they arrived at the level for the outdoor observation deck and headed out. Tai's eyes took in the circular white railing running perpendicular with the wall which prevented those observing Tokyo from falling over the edge to their death by accident.

Neo stood waiting for him, but significantly he was alone. His washed-out features stood out like a sore thumb and yet from what Tai knew Neo was in fact born with his white hair and nearly colorless eyes. The paleness gave Neo a rather eerie appearance on a normal day, but the young man's haunting aura grew when Neo was in the mood Tai found him currently in. Neo

Flying near Neo was a Digimon called Tsukaimon which like Patamon looked like a slightly stout hamster the size of a cat with bat wings for ears and no cute nose; whereas Patamon had orange and white fur with blue eyes Tsukaimon's fur was purple and white and its eyes were a golden yellow. More importantly, if Neo wanted Tsukaimon could easily evolve into Devimon, a towering black demon like Digimon whose wings were torn to shreds.

If this threat weren't enough two females stood on the wall precariously, yet both seemed quite tired from standing in the place Neo threatened to drop them from. What threats Neo used to keep them up their Tai didn't want to know, but even a Digimon the size of Tsukaimon held the capability of causing a great deal of damage. Neo seemed quite pleased with his manipulation of the situation. A memory flickered through Tai's mind regarding an event in Rei's short life as Tai took in the ropes tied around their waists preventing them from also falling before the allotted time.

Ken stared at the sixteen-year-old taking in the eerie features and strange manner of the dress before turning his attention towards Neo's two prisoners. Ken swallowed. "I thought he took your mom and Kari."

Tai's sister Kari wasn't one of the two females standing there on the ledge close to each other. Tai watched his mother and the other woman look at Ken and knew both were likely thinking Ken shouldn't actually be there as he shouldn't know anything regarding _that_ secret.

Ken spoke up before either of the women could. "Senpai, why is the other person he kidnapped Ryo's mom." Ken hadn't yet met Tai's mother. " _Why_ do your mother and Ryo's look like each other?"


	5. Taste of Revenge

Secrets are a complicated matter.

The more complicated the secret the more complicated the situation revolving around a given secret became. Tai turned his head towards Ken and knew the younger DigiDestined was bothered by the complexity of the puzzle pieces in front of him. After all, knowing the secret meant catching onto the actual meaning of the words used. Ken's mind was faced with what seemed at first glance like an impossibility and yet there was indeed an answer.

... an answer Tai knew full well but kept from everyone for a very long time.

Tai was still unsure how he felt about Ken finding out one part of the secret, and yet Ken was finding out another part now. He knew Ken would find out more when Ken offered to help, yet didn't say no. After all, he knew In some ways Tai wondered if he _wanted_ the secret to _be_ out, and yet he shouldn't _want_ the secret to be out.

"Oh. Does this kid know about Ryo? How much does he know though?" Neo's words made Tai's turn and look at Neo and the two women who still teetered precariously on the edge. Neo's mouth twisted into a smile filled with amusement at knowing Tai was likely squirming mentally because of the situation Neo placed himself in, but Ken's question...

"Tai, what have you done?" said one of the women.

"Senpai?" Ken's voice drew Tai's attention back to the younger DigiDestined, but for a moment he wondered if bringing Ken was, in fact, the right idea when currently Ken was distracting him from thinking of a solution where nobody got hurt. Explaining Rei's death wasn't his fault was of course out of the question as Tai didn't think anything he said would work. "What does your mom mean by that, but why is Ryo's mom being drug into this?"

Tai took a deep breath and found himself looking back at the two women. "Is there any way..."

"He's wondering why Ryo's been dragged into this, isn't he?" Neo shook his head in amusement. The rays of sunlight began changing color indicating the sun was starting to set. "More specifically he's wondering why you're having to choose between _your_ mother and Ryo's mother or why you'd choose to save one over the other when the answer should be rather obvious to anyone. Anyone who didn't know the secret, right?"

"Guilt." Ken piped up. "Senpai would save Ryo's mother over his own because of the fact he feels guilty about knowing where Ryo is and not telling her."

Tai watched the eyes of both of Neo's potential victims widen. She reiterated her previous statement. "Taichi, _what_ have you done?

The one Ken identified as Tai's mother opened her mouth in confusion, The sun continued slowly setting and time ticking away as the one Ken identified as Ryo's mother spoke. "Taichi, what does Ken mean by that? _Why_ is Ken even here?"

Neo let out a rather raspy laugh while he tightened his grip on the ropes preventing either woman from falling to their deaths, but a flash of anger briefly appeared in Neo's eyes. "So Ryo is Alive? I wish I'd actually known _that_ , but then again, this Ken kid doesn't know the real secret, does he?"

Tai swallowed while Ken looked at him in confusion. Tai lifted his hands up in hopes of parlaying. "Neo, they have nothing to do with what happened to Rei, so..."

"I'm not going to let them go. You're smart enough to know that, or is _that_ another secret you're keeping from everyone? Are you trying to keep up a mask of not being as intelligent as you really are? Of course, I bet even you are wondering out how I figured out the real secret, what with how well everyone who knows has kept it secret." Neo spoke in a manner which spat the words out in disgust. "And boy isn't it a doozy."

Tai glanced away. "Honestly, I really don't _care_ how you found out. What you're doing is wrong, but Rei wouldn't..."

"Don't say her name!" Neo snapped. "This may be wrong, but so was what you did to Rei. You let her die! She was my sister and you let her die."

"I don't understand." Ken took a deep breath. "If Rei was your sister then why aren't you going after Kari."

"He really doesn't know, does he?" Neo let out a laugh. "Sun will set soon, so you've got to choose. Do you choose the woman who raised you, but always treated Kari as her favorite or the woman who raised Ryo and had nothing to do with you growing up? Which is it? Which do you choose?"

"I can't." Tai's hands remained lifted into the air, but he found himself in a position he couldn't reach for his Digivice. In the back of his head, he knew Digivolving Augumon wouldn't do anything towards solving the current problem but instead may very well draw unwanted attention from those not involved.

"Yes, but Ken doesn't know the real reason why you can't choose. Does he think it's because of guilt over Ryo? He said so himself, but he doesn't know the real secret. Honestly, it was a rather surprising secret, one I wasn't expecting. Should I tell him?"

Tai didn't want Neo to say the secret out loud and yet he found himself unable to articulate what he wanted. Instead, it was Ken who said. "Don't."

"Why not."

"I promise sensei I wouldn't pry any farther."

'Taichi..."

Tai half expected her to ask him yet again what he'd done and yet he couldn't answer the question without giving away the secret. A thought crossed his mind. "If that secret comes out, would you be happy?"

Neo narrowed his eyes and his mouth twisted into a frown. "No. You need to choose from. Your time is ticking away, yet you keep using these stalling tactics. You of all people should know they won't work on me, right? So why do you keep trying."

"Because I don't want either one of them to die." The words came out of Tai's mouth quicker than he wanted and yet he glanced from the woman Ken identified as Ryo's mother to the woman Ken identified as Tai's mother.

"In other words, you don't want to have to choose, but isn't that the problem in the first place?"

In Tai's mind Neo was speaking nonsense, and yet he knew in Neo's mind they made sense. Each held a different viewpoint on what happened to Rei. The woman who Ken identified as Tai's mother narrowed her eyes. He caught a look of sadness as she said, "You shouldn't have to choose."

Tai watched her take a step back and his throat tightened as one word came out of his mouth. "No!"


	6. Digital Fog

The next few moments were a living nightmare. Tai watched the one Ken identified as Tai's mother step off the edge and Neo turned his head in surprise, but his grip on the ropes he held onto loosened slightly. The one Ken identified as Ryo's mother twisted around and reached out for the one Ken identified as Tai's mother. As she reached out, she too was pulled from the ledge and they fell out of sight.

The ropes snapped out of Neo's hands and the pale colored young man twisted around and reached for the ropes while Tsukaimon flew after the two women. The ropes continued slipping from Neo's grip, yet Tai found himself unable to move from the spot as he looked on in horror. He heard Ken's voice from nearby. "Wormmon, Digivolve to Stingmon!"

Tai felt a gust of wind blow past him as Stingmon hurtled after the two women. Tai lifted his hands up to his head and swallowed. "No. No, no, no."

"Senpai!" Ken called out to Tai as he rushed by. "Snap out of it!"

Neo glanced back at him while his hands still gripped the ropes which were now slack. "So much for one-hundred percent."

The jibe made Tai swallow and he hurried towards the edge where he saw Ken reaching for the ropes which were slowly sliding over the edge. Agumon followed after him and found himself looking down at the two loops at the end of the ropes which were now empty of anything. They also saw Stingmon flying towards the ground rather back up towards the enemy. Ken's eyes widened in confusion. "What... what's going on?"

Tai swallowed back the nagging feeling plaguing his mind before turning so he might confront of Neo, but neither Neo or Tsukaimon were anywhere in sight. Tai felt his hands clench into a pair of fists. Mentally he pushed what he just saw into the back of his head; he'd done the same with the memory of Rei brought on by the sight out of his thoughts. He headed straight for the elevators and didn't notice Ken or Augumon following after him and simply pushed the buttons knowing full well where he needed to go.

"Sempai, what's going on?"

Tai didn't say anything while watching the door of the elevator closed.

"Tai!"

Tai's brown eyes blinked a couple of times before turning towards Ken. "What?"

"Aren't you..."

The ground began shaking below their feet. Tai's hands gripped the support rail in the elevator stalled as the lights flickered on and off. After a few seconds the elevator started up again and soon the three arrived at the ground floor. Tai, Agumon, and Ken weaved their way through the people heading towards the exit because of the earthquake which just occurred. They hurried towards the walking paths near the tower and looked for the area Stingmon went to land, but instead found a group of people gathering around the area they expected the Digimon to be. "Has someone called an ambulance yet?"

"Isn't there a hospital nearby?"

Tai swallowed as he stood frozen looking at the crowd. A whisper came from the nearby hedges. "I was only able to catch one."

The frantic whispering came from Wormmon who'd de-Digivolved and hid from the humans when they started gathering. Ken's blue eyes widened and he leaned over and whispered back. "Is that why they're gathering? One of them is dead?"

"No." Wormmon's green coloring helped him blend in well with the hedges as he continued speaking in a whispered tone. "The one I was able to catch isn't waking up."

"Then what happened to the other one?"

"It's as if she disappeared."

Tai swallowed and glanced up at the sky. A light drizzle started falling, but a fog started setting in. The normally blue sky for a few brief seconds appeared slightly distorted, but nobody around him noticed the change. Taking a deep breath he started walking slowly over to the crowd.

"What do you mean..." Ken didn't finish his question and instead said, "Agumon, hide here with Wormmon."

"Okay."

Tai took a deep breath as he got closer. Someone in the crowd said, "does anybody know who this woman is?"

He knew exactly who the woman lying on the ground unconscious was and yet he found himself unable to speak. Ken tugged on his sleeve, and yet he still didn't respond. An aftershock ripped through the place making a few in the gathered crowd cry out. "Tai."

Ken saying his name made Tai turn and look at the younger DigiDestined, but words still didn't come out of his mouth.

"What happened to Ryo's mom?"

"I..." Tai glanced up at the sky and saw the distortions show up again. His eyes narrowed and his hands clenched together. Ken glanced up as the distortions flickered in and out.

"Okay. So I take it you see the anomaly as well, but we really need to tell them it's your mom. She needs to be taken to a hospital."

A shiver ran down his spine, yet the words didn't come out of his mouth One of the adults in the crowd turned. "Hey, what are you kids staring at? You shouldn't gawk like that."

"She..."

"That woman's Mrs. Kamiya. She's his mom."

Tai swallowed and closed his eyes. His mind struggled in processing what was going on in front of him, almost as if his mind wasn't working at a hundred percent. He heard another adult speak. "I've got her wallet. Her name is Kamiya Yuuko."

What happened next felt like a blur. Specifically, Tai didn't remember how he went from standing there in the garden near the tower and sitting in the hospital waiting room waiting for Kari and his father to come. He vaguely remembered Ken saying he would call Kari and let her know what was going on, and yet he was also sure Ken said something about not really knowing what was going on. He also remembered the rain pouring down soaking his clothing.

In truth, only Tai knew and knowing made him feel very much alone. After all, to most people, there was no such thing as Digimon or the Digital World. There were also so many secrets kept.

* * *


	7. Twisting Turns

"Taichi, you're soaking wet."

Tai didn't look up when he heard his father's voice. Instead, his fingers tightened around the seat he sat in. The man's voice was almost drowned out by the sound of people coming and going as the hospital brought people in because of the Earthquake. He barely registered Kari leaning forward and hugging him, but the smell of her shampoo – the same their mother liked using, was somewhat comforting.

"Look. I'm going to go and check on mom and then we'll head back home, okay?"

Tai swallowed and glanced over at Ken who sat nearby. The younger DigiDestined didn't ask if he knew anything about what was going on the entire time he waited with Tai. Tai felt Kari's grip on him tighten slightly, but after a few minutes she let go and sat down beside him. She leaned over and spoke in a whisper. "Do either of you know what's going on?"

"Are Agumon and Wormmon okay?"

"Gatomon took them back to our apartment, but I'll ask dad again if you can come over. He said he'd think about it, but it is rather late and you could stay in Tai's room. I'm sure your parents would appreciate that."

Tai's grip on the seat tightened even more. Kari squeezed his shoulder. "Mom's going to be okay. More importantly, you should stop blaming yourself for things which aren't your fault."

A deep sigh escaped Tai's mouth and he closed his eyes while waiting for his father to come back. Kari and Ken thankfully said nothing. Outside the hospital was as loud as inside and Tai found himself shutting everything out. When they arrived at the apartment, he removed his soaking wet shoes and headed over to the table and sat down at the table despite the fact he was still sopping wet. He didn't know yet if Ken would be staying the night.

He heard the kitchen cupboards open and close. "Seriously, your mother is so much better at this thing. Kari..."

"Yes, daddy?" Kari spoke in a rather sing-song voice and yet Tai didn't pay this much attention. Instead, his fingers drummed on the top of the table.

"Hold on a sec." Tai felt his father place hands on his shoulders and Tai glanced up at the man. He saw his father smile but felt the man lean in to hug him from behind and place a chin on his forehead. Under normal circumstances, he'd protest, but he didn't have the energy or will. "Go take a bath. Kari will make help me make something to eat, but also make sure there's something hot for you and Ken to drink. Ken can borrow some of your clothes, so off you go."

This meant Ken was likely staying the night. Tai headed into the bathroom and stripped himself of the cold, wet clothes and let them fall to the bathroom floor. The hot water from the bath flowing over his entire felt good but chased away some of the physical numbness. His mind started processing at normal speed. Tai was about to let out a deep breath when the door to the bathroom opened. "Dad!"

The man lifted a finger to his lips and slipped into the room. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What..." Tai closed his eyes while sliding down into the water.

"It's about Ryo."

"W..." Tai choked on the water while his mind raced. He remembered seeing Ryo in the other world, but more importantly, he remembered the knowledge of him knowing where Ryo was coming out. He pushed himself up so he leaned over the edge of the tub. "Mom..."

"I know. I know. She'd insist we not talk about it."

Tai's eyes closed remembering she was still in the hospital unconscious. "Then why?"

"I just got a call from the police station near the Akiyama residence."

The confusion running through Tai's mind grew.

"Look, I probably wouldn't even be getting away with this if your mother was, you know... but..." His father took a deep breath. "Ryo is waiting at the police station for me to pick me up." Which of course didn't make any sense at all. "He's not told the police where he's been the last few years, but he went home and found his father unconscious and his mother missing. When the police asked if he had anyone to stay with, well – we are his legal guardians if anything happened even if Yuuko wouldn't like that."

Tai lifted his head up so he could look at his father. "What about Kari?"

"Could you possibly not say anything, you know, about that to her or Ken?" His father didn't wait for an affirmative reply. "I've got to go, so..." The man slipped out of the bathroom and Tai let out a sigh of relief. The door opened back up and Tai let out another yelp. "Wait? Did you bring a change of clothes in here with you?"

"Dad! Seriously!"

"I'll go get you a change of clothes and bring it into you before I leave."

Tai closed his eyes wishing the man wouldn't be such a scatterbrain, particularly when it came to be raising his kids. "Seriously. I'm fourteen and a guy. I don't need to be coddled anymore."

"I heard that." The pile of clothes dropped onto the floor of the bathroom along with a towel and Mr. Kamiya was gone.

Tai slid down into the tub in annoyance and held his breath. He eventually surfaced and got dressed. He saw Ken at the table working on some of his homework. He'd already changed into some clothes Tai suspected Kari found. Tai tilted his head towards his bedroom. "Can we go see to your sleeping arrangements?"

Ken's head darted up. "Sure."

They stepped into the room where Wormmon and Agumon were waiting with Gatomon. The cat-like Digimon looked up at Tai. "What exactly happened? Agumon and Wormmon have been mum since I retrieved them, but Wormmon was super freaked out about something and keeps muttering under his breath."

Tai watched the blue tuffs on her ear wiggle slightly. "Well, it was kind of shocking to see Mrs. Kamiya like that."

Gatomon didn't seem like she believed Ken's explanation and yet it did prove enough for her to leave the room. Tai let out a deep breath."

The door clicked shut and Wormmon spoke up. "What happened to Mrs. Kamiya was upsetting, but what I'm really concerned about is what happened to Mrs. Akiyama. She literally disappeared, but the sky is doing weird things and there is this weird fog."

"Do you know anything about this senpai?"

"I thought I told you to call me Tai, Ken." Tai walked over to his handheld computer. There was something he wished to check.

"Okay. So, it's one of those things you can't talk about." Ken let out a deep breath. Tai's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at his e-mails. "At least it can't get any worse."

"It has." Tai swallowed as he read Ryo's e-mail.

" _I remember._ "

"What do you mean it's gotten worse? How?"

"Do you remember how I showed you Ryo was in another world?"

"Well, yeah."

Tai turned and looked Ken in the eye. "He's now back in this world. On top of what happened today..."

"You mean Mrs. Akiyama disappearing..."

"Mr. Akiyama is also unconscious. My dad is actually on his way to pick Ryo up from the police station, but that's not exactly the worst thing."

Tai watched Ken fold his arms across his chest and let out a deep breath. "What's worse."

"I can't go into details, but Kari isn't supposed to have met Ryo ever, yet because of the stuff regarding the Digital World she has."


	8. Worlds Closing

Tai wasn't surprised when his words left Ken staring at him in disbelief. Wormmon was also confused by what Tai said but kept looking at his DigiDestined. Ken finally said, "You just said Kari's not supposed to have met Ryo." The preteen took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I can't help but think there is some significance to what you just said, but then again..."

Ken's mouth shut firmly while he waited for Tai to say something, and yet Tai didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do.

"We could tell Kari."

"Absolutely not."

"And then we run into the problem of her letting your dad know she knows Ryo." Ken's mouth pushed together. "Is this _really_ such a big deal?"

Tai took a deep breath. "I can't go into details."

Wormmon turned his head towards Tai. "I don't think there is anything we can do."

The realization Wormmon was right hit hard. Tai let out a sigh and plopped into his computer chair. Augumon let out a sigh and leaned into Tai. Eventually, a knock came at the door and Tai turned his head as Kari peeked in. "Dinner's ready. Dad called and said we can start eating without him."

Tai's hand reached for his handheld computer and his other rubbed the top of Agumon's head. "I'll be sure to bring you back something buddy."

The meal Kari prepared was quite simple compared to that of their mothers, and yet the food still tasted good. Despite knowing the food would, in fact, taste good Tai found himself unable to eat anything but a few bites. Instead, his eyes drifted to Ryo's message of, " _I remember._ "

The e-mail was simple enough and yet Tai couldn't help but feel slightly guilting. Taking a deep breath Tai decided he would reply. " _Hi._ "

Tai glanced up at Ken and saw he was also picking at his food while Kari acted as if she didn't notice nobody else was eating. A ding from his handheld made Tai nearly drop the device as his eyes looked down at the device, but he nearly choked on the bite of food he'd managed placing into his mouth. " _Just hi? Was it you I saw with Ken today?_ "

"Nii-chan." Kari started into the sing-song tone of voice she got whenever she wanted to push someone's buttons. Tai reluctantly looked up at his younger sister. "You know mom doesn't like computer devices at the table."

Tai took a deep breath and shoved the handheld into the pocket of his school pants before taking a deep breath. He attempted eating some more bites of food but found himself struggling as his eyes drifted towards the door. Ken wasn't fairing much better.

"Is there something wrong with the food?"

Tai glanced up at his sister. "Sorry, Kari. I'm not exactly..."

He half expected his sister to chide him but instead got a rather knowing smile. "You're worried about mom, right?"

"Me too." Ken piped up. "I know she's not my mom, but it's still worrying."

"Right. You two should still try to eat."

Tai took a deep breath before looking down at the food in front of him. His stomach clenched slightly as the realization he'd see Ryo again began setting in. More specifically he'd see and speak to Ryo. Tai let out a sigh as his chopsticks poked at the food in front of him. The front door of the apartment opened, and Tai heard his father speak up. "We're back."

"We?" Kari turned towards the door while Tai's chopsticks hovered over his food. Ryo stood just on the other side of the only adult in the room, though sometimes Tai found himself wondering if the man was really an adult. Her brown eyes widened.

Mr. Kamiya's hand touched the top of Ryo's head. "Kari, this is Akiyama Ryo. He'll be staying with us for a while, okay?"

Kari's eyes blinked. "Oh. Hi. I'm Kamiya Kari and this is my older brother Tai. This is our friend Ken."

Ryo lifted up a hand warily. "Hi."

"Come and eat. There's plenty."

Tai tried smiling despite how uncomfortable Ryo seemed. Mr. Kamiya nudged Ryo and they came over so they might eat some food, yet Ryo still didn't make eye contact. Tai didn't know how they could best retreat to their room. Kari eventually let out a yawn. "I need to get to bed." She stood up and tugged on their father's arm. "You need to get to bed as well. You've got to get up early."

"I do?" Their dad stood up. "Are you sure I can't help and clear the table."

"Tai didn't help cook so he can clear the table." Kari stuck her tongue out while pushing their father to his bedroom. Tai glared after the man before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

The doors for Kari and their father's bedroom clicked shut. Tai heard Ryo clear his voice. "So, how much does Ken know?"

Ken swallowed. Tai looked up and saw Ken looking nervously at Ryo. Tai took a deep breath. "Do you really have your memories back?"

"Yeah." Ryo let out a deep sigh. "Tai..." Tai swallowed. "You were with Ken, weren't you?"

Tai let his eyes drift away. Ken set down his chopsticks. "You saw us. While you were with that girl named Rika."

He heard Ryo let out another deep breath. "That wasn't the only time you were watching me, was it?"

His hands clenched around the chopsticks in his hand. "Look, if you're wondering why I never approached..."

"Tai..." Ryo's tone of voice changed when Tai didn't respond. "Taichi, look at me already!"

Tai's mouth twisted into a frown. He turned and looked at Ryo. "What?"

"I read your e-mails, so I know why you didn't." Ryo leaned back in his chair. "Wasn't it hard for you, letting things be?"

"As I've told Ken..."

"He keeps saying he doesn't care, but he does."

Ryo frowned and glanced at Ken. "Again, how much do you know?"

"I know you disappeared to that world."

"That world..." Ryo's mouth twisted slightly. "I wonder if you can call it that world, considering..."

"I know your mom and Tai's look like each other."

Tai watched Ryo give him a rather horrified look. "Has he? How..."

"No, he hasn't. As for how, let's just say it's your explanation for why she's missing." Tai watched the color drain from Ryo's face. "I'm sorry. I..."

"She tried saving Tai's mom before she disappeared." Ken glanced at the bedroom where the Digimon were. "Speaking of which, does Ryo know about Neo?"

"Neo? Isn't Neo..."

Tai felt his mouth twitch and shook his head at Ryo. Ken, however, kept speaking. "Apparently he blames Tai for his sister Rei's death."

"He..." Ryo shook his head and crossed his arms. "That's not possible. He has the wrong person."

Tai shrugged his shoulders. "He certainly doesn't think so, but I'm really sorry for dragging you into this as well Ryo."

The phone rang and Tai got up in hopes the phone call wouldn't bother his father who was asleep in the other room.

" _Taichi!_ "

Tai held the phone away from his ear. "Izzy, it's kind of late and we kind of..."

" _Davis had a run in with another DigiDestined. Except he didn't call himself a DigiDestined. This person called themselves a DigiTamer._ "


	9. Free Falling

Everything which happened in the last twelve hours made him feel as if he were free falling with nothing he could grab onto. The feeling made Tai feel slightly nauseated, but he found himself wondering how complicated things would become yet found himself wondering how difficult keeping the secrets he'd kept for so long would become.

" _Tai. Did you hear me? Davis..."_

 _"_ I heard you. Davis encountered someone calling them a DigiTamer." Tai attempted looking Ryo in the eye only for Ryo to avoid eye contact as he slid down in the chair. Ken glanced between the two older boys before Tai said, "I guess we'll need to meet up at the school computer room tomorrow to discuss this."

Tai hung up the phone. Ken's lips pushed together, and he stood up with his plate and headed to the kitchen in order that he might take care of his plate. Tai picked up some of the other plates and started helping Ken in the kitchen rather than pushing the issue with Ryo, and yet he knew they would need to speak of what happened. When they finished, he found Ryo sitting with his head leaning back and one hand pinching the bridge of his nose almost as if he had a headache.

"Ryo?"

"I didn't mean to withhold the fact I knew the two worlds merged from you two." Ryo swallowed but kept his eyes closed. "I just didn't know how to come out and say it but hoped I'd have more time to figure it out before someone other than Tai figured it out."

"You suspected?" Ken asked.

Tai let out a deep sigh. "It was hard not to know when Ryo said he wondered if we could call the world he was in that world. You can't if the two worlds have merged together."

Ryo stood up and started heading to one of the rooms, but quickly froze. After a moment he turned towards Tai. "I don't which room the computer is in."

"I have a computer in my room."

Ryo's eyes widened slightly. "Wait. You don't share a room with Kari any more?"

"Not since I entered middle school." Tai watched Ryo look away but caught sight of the rather pained look on Ryo's face. Tai let out a sigh. "It's this way. Ken and Wormmon can take the top bunk and Agumon and I can take the floor. You can also..."

"Wait. The Digimon are here in the real world?" Ryo glanced at the ground with a rather pained expression on his face. "No. Some had to be, what with this Davis having a confrontation with one of my..." Ryo shook his head. "... one of the tamers. If you don't mind Tai, I'll take the floor."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Ryo let out a deep breath. "I just want to check something out. I..."

Ryo froze where he stood simply staring into space. His hands clenched together almost as if he didn't want to move forward. The door to Kari's room opened and Tai's head snapped in the direction as Kari came out carrying Gatomon. She let out a rather dainty yawn before heading over to Ryo whose body trembled slightly. The cat-like Digimon looked at Ryo in amazement. "Kari was right. You really are here."

Hearing Gatomon speak made Ryo suck in his breath tightly and look away. Tai narrowed his eyes and looked his sister in the eye. "Kari, you haven't told anyone else that Ryo is here?"

He watched Kari's mouth twist into a frown. "No, but why is that important?" She turned and looked at Ryo with her eyes narrowed. "And what happened to your eyes? Didn't anybody notice? I mean, a person who's been missing for two to three years shows up and their eye colors changed..."

"I'm going to give the answer that they were to busy with the earthquake and ensuing incidents to really care." Ryo's voice strained, but he refused to look Kari in the eye.

"That's not an answer. I mean, why wouldn't they care."

"I don't know. None of you certainly cared enough to..." Ryo's head turned slightly as he directed his anger at Kari only for his blue eyes to widen in horror. He glanced away while Kari looked at him in confusion.

Tai sighed and tilted his head towards the door of the room which used to be the computer room. "My room is that way."

Ryo headed quickly to the room and opened the door. Agumon rushed out and tackled Ryo while saying the name of the person the Digimon knocked to the ground. The yellow t-rex-like Digimon buried his face into Ryo's chest and closed his eyes before opening them up and looked Ryo in the eye. "We've missed you?"

The other three watched as Ryo's lip trembled slightly and then Ryo returned the hug. Tai was sure he heard a slight sniffle from Ryo as Ryo closed his eyes tightly. Eventually, Agumon released Ryo and they headed into the room, and yet Tai knew Ryo was still upset. He glared at his sister while Ken watched. "Seriously?"

"What?" Kari gave him a rather innocent look.

"You're not acting like yourself, Kari."

"What do you mean?"

Tai didn't like when she acted innocent and wasn't. "You're the DigiDestined of Light, so what do you think is the matter."

Kari gave him a baffled look and then looked away. She let out a sigh. "I guess you're wanting me to apologize to him, but I don't see why I should when I didn't _say_ anything wrong."

This resulted in Tai flicking her in the forehead. "The issue is your tone of voice and the looks you gave him. Why would you do that?"

Tai watched her mouth twist into a pout. "When Ryo was around you spent a lot of time with him."

"And?"

Kari took a deep breath and glared at him while Ken still watched. "I'm your sibling, not him."

"Wait..." Tai's eyes blinked. Kari turned on her heels and headed back to her room while Gatomon peeked over Kari's shoulder giving him a look of pity. His head turned towards the door to his room making him realize Ryo possibly overheard what she said. "Shit."

He headed into the room and found Ryo sitting in the computer chair with his head between his knees. Tai took a deep breath. "Ryo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ryo pretended as if nothing was wrong and instead pulled the computer chair over to the desk and started fiddling with Tai's computer. Every so often he pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache.

Tai heard Wormmon whisper to Ken. "He's not alright, is he?"

"His mom's missing and his dad is in the hospital, but I think the reality of his situation is setting in," Ken whispered back.

Tai didn't add in there were other things such as Ryo missing his own Digimon. In fact, one of the painful things Ryo dealt with while in their world was being the one DigiDestined without his own Digimon. He instead walked over and watched over Ryo's shoulder. Ryo of course headed to one of the mysterious siting boards he liked utilizing and there in front of them was a vivid red and bright blue blur.

"Let me guess? This Davis has a bright blue Digimon?"

"Yeah." Tai's mouth closed firmly. "That would be Veemon

"He probably had a run in with Takato and Guilmon." Ryo took out his phone and shook his head. "I've not received any message from anyone since Rika's text asking me if I got onto the train to Fuuyoga, okay, but I didn't respond back." Ryo took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "She is going to be pissed."

Tai held back a laugh. Ken stepped forward with Wormmon in his arms. "Why not tell her the truth?"

"How do you suggest telling her I'm..." Ryo took a deep breath and looked at Tai.

"You mean from a different world that has now merged with theirs? And aren't we characters in a television show there?"

"Yeah. I kind of avoided the television show. Alice helped create that, and she's kind of creepy." Ryo's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"So none of them have figured out yet that you actually make an appearance in the so-called second season and one of the movies?"

"What..."

"It's rather brief and you have your original eye color so..."

"This television show doesn't exist here does it?" Ken glanced at Tai.

Ryo frowned and typed in the word Digimon. He took a deep breath as the screen started glitching. "Apparently the worlds are still working on merging together."

Ken let out a yawn breaking Tai from his train of thoughts. He turned his head and looked at the younger DigiDestined. "We should really head to bed. We can talk some more in the morning."


	10. Broken Glass

"Rei?"

A memory flickered briefly through his mind of the sun shining through the bus windows, but the memory became quickly replaced by the sunlight as a dense fog surrounded the bus. Then came the sound of something heavy crashing into the bus which in turn made the bus tilt and the few passengers scream. Some were knocked from their seats while the lights above flickered and gave off a buzzing sound before the bus came to a stop

Tai felt a pain running through his body which he couldn't place. He turned his head slightly and saw a giant blue eye looking right at him, but the red reptilian skin looking in the window right behind him. Tai swallowed as some kind of liquid dripped from his mouth, but in the back of his mind, he knew he recognized a Digimon. How a Digimon came to be in the real world he honestly didn't know, but he also didn't have Zeromaru with him.

His eyes closed and his hand attempted reaching out for Rei's but was unable to find her hand. Instead, he heard a roar which didn't come from the Digimon he couldn't quite make out but glanced up and saw in the dim lights a flash of orange reptilian skin with blue stripes. Tai let out a groan and attempted to move, and yet pain wracked his entire body. In the back of his mind he knew he needed to get to Rei, but instead, his hands rested limply at the end of the seat.

The sound of battle echoed outside, and he heard someone pry open the front door of the bus. Tai heard the crunching of glass under the person's feet, and yet he hadn't realized some of the glass broke. His eyes drifted over to where Rei was in her wheelchair but didn't see her moving. Tai's ears picked up the sound of a small creature puffing and then heard, "Taichi. I finished taking care of the Tyrannomon."

Tai frowned wondering how the Digimon, for he knew it was a Digimon which spoke, in fact, heard his name. He saw the shadow of the person approach. Despite not quite making out the person's features Tai thought there was something familiar. His fingers twitched and somehow he managed to move his hand, and yet he couldn't do anything to help Rei. Tai took a deep breath before letting out a weak cough.

"Hey. Be careful." The voice sounded familiar.

"Rei. Take care of Rei."

"Rei is..."

"The girl in the wheelchair." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the person lean over Rei and examine her before reaching out and pressing their fingers against her neck.

He then heard the deep sigh from the person. "I'm sorry."

They started walking over yet seemed hesitant for some reason. "No..."

Tai knew full well he was stubborn, but he wasn't ready to give up on Rei and reached his hand out for the person's arm. As he did, he heard then say. "Wait! Don't! You'll..."

Images flashed through Tai's head quickly, but he didn't understand why he was now approaching the bus but getting an Agumon to digivolve into a Greymon with a Digivice which didn't look like his own Digivice 01. He then saw himself walking over to the bus and prying the doors open while his Digimon fought off the Tyranomon, but he also felt the emotional turmoil at seeing everyone slumped over and not breathing.

One image froze at the point where he reached down and felt for Rei's pulse only to find she was gone before shifting quickly to the image of seeing himself reach out for his hand.

At this point, the images became worse and he saw flashes of his life, yet he wasn't sure which was his own life flashing before him until he yet again saw himself grabbing onto his arm. He saw the blood dripping down from his mouth and his brown eyes dulling before he saw himself completely disappear. Tai's eyes rolled back into his head briefly and he felt his body falling onto the ground. A deep breath escaped from his lips as he attempted making sense of what was going on.

"Taichi!" Agumon called out from where he leaned over.

Tai choked as the memories started buzzing through his head without the addition of sensory. Reaching forward he attempted pulling himself forward, but his body felt weak. He saw his reflection briefly and vaguely as the light started coming into the bus. A cold sweat broke out upon seeing his eye flash from brown to blue, to brown in color again. A voice calling out Rei's name made Tai turn his head back towards the exit and he saw Neo..

The dream then flashed to when he saw his mother falling and for a brief moment, it was Rei instead of her.

"Tai, wake up."

Tai startled away and gasped for air. He felt someone nudging his shoulder and turned so he could see the person. The last person he mentally expected hovered over him while their blue eyes looked at him carefully. "Ryo..."

"You were having a nightmare."

"Taichi." Agumon tugged on Tai's sleeve and he turned slightly so he could see the worried look on his Digimon's face.

"Scoot over."

Tai's eyes blinked upon hearing Ryo's words. He started to turn only to feel Ryo start nudging him. Tai found himself scooting over so Agumon was pressed tightly against the wall, but he felt Ryo's back against his own.

Ryo spoke in a whisper. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I couldn't save her."

"Who?"

"Rei. I was pathetic. I'm the DigiDestined of Courage and I was pathetic." Tai's eyes narrowed. "I've not felt that pathetic since you disappeared."

Tai heard Ryo take a deep breath. "You're not pathetic, nor do I blame you for what happened. Try to get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow, one I'm honestly not looking forward to."

"Me neither."


	11. Rough Morning Start

The rest of the night was dreamless.

Sunlight shown through the window of Tai's room casting a golden light around the entire room. Agumon snored lightly beside Tai, yet for some reason, Tai felt as if he'd forgotten something. Tai gently moved Agumon's heavy claw from around his middle so he might sit up. Tai blinked a few times and looked around the room in an attempt at figuring out what he'd forgotten. After a few minutes, the events from yesterday came floating back.

"Ryo…" Tai's eyes blinked some more realizing Ryo wasn't in the room. "Was it a dream?"

One hand reached up for the top of the bottom bunk and Tai pulled himself up. Ken still slept in the top bunk with Wormmon meaning that part was in fact real. He walked over and opened the door to his room. The sound of Kari crying filtered into the room and he stepped out wondering what might have made her cry. His eyes widened upon seeing Ryo standing outside of the bathroom door, but Tai realized the sound of Kari crying came from the bathroom.

"Ryo?"

Ryo glanced up. The DigiTamer seemed tired. "If you're wondering what I said or did to upset her, nothing."

In the back of Tai's mind, he knew Ryo wouldn't do anything to hurt Kari, but he still found himself asking, "What happened?"

Ryo took a deep breath. "What happened? I doubt Kari would want me to go into details."

"Yeah, but…" Tai swallowed. His eyes darted around in hopes of finding Gatomon. The door to the patio was open and bedding from Kari's room hung over the balcony, but the cat-like Digimon stood on the patio tugging the bedding into a more secure position. "If Kari wet the bed…"

Gatomon turned and glared at him, but Ryo spoke in a tone which indicated the subject was not to his liking. A blush started appearing on his face. "Have Sora talk to Kari."

"What?"

"It's something moms are supposed to handle Tai!" Ryo's head darted away, but the blush on his cheeks deepened. A rather loud sob came from inside the bathroom and Gatomon hurried over to the door while Ryo looked at the door. The worried look on Ryo's face didn't make Tai feel any better about what was going on. Ryo turned towards the door slightly. "Kari. I'm sorry I yelled. I think Gatomon would like to come in."

The door clicked open and the cat Digimon slipped in. Tai took a deep breath. "I guess I'll start breakfast for all of us?"

Ryo shrugged. The blue eyes stared at the floor. "I'm not sure if they ever reported me missing, or if their report got mixed up with the missing person's report from the world, I was in. That was resolved. Sort of."

Tai glanced away knowing what Ryo meant by this. Tai started making eggs for everyone. The sound of a cupboard opening made him turn his head to see Ryo getting plates out from the cupboards for the table. Neither said anything regarding what happened. As such the only sound was the soft sobs which came from the bathroom.

Eventually, the door to the bathroom opened and Kari came out holding onto her Digimon tightly. She sat down at the table just in time for Agumon to stagger out of Tai's bedroom with Ken and Wormmon close behind. Ken sat down in one of the seats and glanced over at Kari. "Are you okay."

Kari took a deep breath and nodded her head. "I think so."

"So…" Ken glanced at the plate Ryo set on the table instead of looking at Ryo who now stood near the stove watching Tai cook. "Did they let you know Izzy senpai called last night."

"Izzy?" Kari wiped the tears away from one eye. "No. Tai didn't say anything."

Tai glanced over at Ryo who shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground. For some reason, Ryo felt invisible despite now existing in the room. Tai brought his pan of eggs over to the table and set the hot pan down onto the table. Ken looked at the eggs in confusion. "Taichi senpai?"

"Nii-chan only knows how to make eggs."

Ryo let out a sound indicating something upset him, but Tai brushed the comment away. He instead sat down and placed some eggs onto his plate before letting the others take some. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Ryo pick at his food before turning towards Kari. "You can't let the others know Ryo is here."

Kari's chocolate brown eyes blinked a couple of times while Gatomon glared at Tai.

"No. It's okay. I'm thinking I might go as well." Ryo took some eggs but poked at them.

Ken's eyes widened. "Are you sure? I mean…"

"Nii-chan…" Kari's words made Ryo flinch again. "Why is Izzy calling a meeting?"

Ryo's mouth opened, only to quickly clamp shut again. Tai let out a deep breath. "Davis got into it with someone calling themselves a DigiTamer."

Kari's mouth twisted slightly. "Doesn't that person mean DigiDestined?"

"No." Ryo poked his food. "He meant DigiTamer."

Tai gave Ryo a look, indicating he shouldn't say anything more lest Kari's became even more suspicious, and yet Ryo showing up like he had was definitely suspicious. "Nii-chan?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what happened to ka-chan?"

Tai froze. Agumon tugged at his sleeve, but Ryo quickly handed the Digimon his plate of eggs so Agumon could have more to eat. "I…"

"Do you think it ties into this DigiTamer stuff?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. You know Izzy's better at this kind of stuff than me." Tai noticed Ryo look at him knowingly and yet the look was ignored. A glance up at Kari told Tai she was far more worried about whatever bothered her the night before. "Hey. You know if you had a nightmare you could always come and see me, right?"

The color quickly drained from Kari's face. Tai didn't like how she looked at him in horror, or the way Gatomon glared at him murderously. A yelp escaped from his mouth when Ryo kicked him hard. He turned and glared at Ryo. "What?"

Ryo glared back with just as much intensity. Kari took a deep breath. "Please tell me the two of you aren't going to get into a fight or something? Seriously. You get into things with Ryo worse than you do Matt."


End file.
